If the opening night of District 20-4A football play is an indicator of what’s to come, then buckle up.
Central needed two overtimes and stopped a two-point conversion to end a 57-56 victory over Vidor, Ozen got rich with an overtime touchdown to beat Nederland 17-10, Lumberton used a last-second defensive stop to secure a 42-35 victory on Livingston and Port Neches-Groves used a late interception to snag a 27-20 win over Little Cypress-Mauriceville.
If nothing else, the narrow margins by which the games were settled illustrated just the kind of season our 20-4A squads will face.
The average point margin between the winners and losers was 5.5. Contrast that with the 15-point average margin in last season’s opening round of district games, and there’s reason to think they’ll be in for a tight race.
Go ahead and try guessing the winners of next week’s games — or the week after that — and you’ll find there are no sure bets. If bookies wagered on high school games, they’d be wise to leave the point spread in the single digits.
Next week Central plays host to LC-M, Nederland goes to PN-G for the annual Mid-County Madness affair, Vidor plays at Lumberton and Ozen faces Livingston at Durley Stadium.
Each of those games features a district-opener winner against a district-opener loser, meaning each of the eight district teams could end next week with 1-1 district records. Either that, or four teams could improve to 2-0 and send the other four to 0-2.
At any rate, later games will determine district championships and narrow a playoff field. Four teams from this eight-team district qualify for the playoffs.
The No. 6 state ranking The Woodlands carried into Memorial Stadium suggested that fans should have expected a blowout. What they got instead was a respectable game played by a competitive Memorial squad.
The Titans lost 24-7, but only after a pair of fourth-quarter field goals did The Woodlands lead by a comfortable margin.
Take away a pair of safeties for The Woodlands in the second quarter, and Memorial would have faced just a 14-7 deficit as it entered the fourth quarter.
The Woodlands successfully stalled what had been a potent Memorial rushing attack, forcing the Titans to pass.
If nothing else, playing The Woodlands gives Memorial a yardstick by which it can measure up to Galena Park North Shore, Memorial’s District 21-5A opening opponent. North Shore entered the week ranked No. 9 in the state poll.
Bridge City and Orangefield look like contenders to be in a District 21-3A title mix once thought to include only West Orange-Stark and Silsbee. Bridge City has won four of five non-district games, quite an improvement from the winless season the team experienced in 2007. The Cardinals latest triumph came in a 43-28 victory over Bridge City. Orangeifeld, which fell to Newton 62-40 in a wild game, is 3-2.
FRIDAY’S TOP PERFORMERS
RUSHING
Caleb Harmon, PN-G, 22 carries, 307 yards, 3 touchdowns
Kelvin Bennett, Newton, 87-287-3
Jeremy Jackson, Newton, 15-237-4
Matt Menard, Bridge City, 23-208-2
Shane Pittman, Vidor, 34-208-5
LeFrederick Ford, Kirbyville, 12-197-3
Dewan Childress, Anahuac, 12-151-1
Kevin Tate, Vidor, 20-145-1
Evan Guidrey, Orangefield, 19-143-3
Keith O’Neal, Central, 19-135-1
PASSING
Hunter Gonzales, LC-M, 24 completions, 40 attempts, 201 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
Ryan Hughes, Lumberton, 10-15-176-3-1
Dakota Eddins, Kelly, 14-26-158-1-3
Corwin Keal, Memorial, 17-30-135-0-0
Blake Venable, H-J, 7-13-125-1-1
RECEIVING
Jacoby Anderson, Ozen, 6 catches, 148 yards, 1 touchdowns
Zack Sonnier, LC-M, 11-90-0
Chase McDonald, Lumberton, 3-85-1
Ryan Brady, Nederland, 3-82-0
Braxton Mayes, Anhuac, 2-66-1
Showing posts with label Friday night football wrapup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday night football wrapup. Show all posts
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday night football wrapup: Sept. 18
Two Southeast Texas football teams made major statements Friday night, giving fans reason to dream about the season that lays ahead.
For one, Class 2A Newton showed its worth with a thrilling victory at Silsbee, a Class 3A school thought to be a district championship contender. In another game, Jasper looked to be the real deal in a surprising 23-13 victory over West Orange-Stark, thought of as a state championship contender before the season.
The victory for Jasper was its second straight against a team ranked in The Associated Press top 10 state rankings. Most striking in those victories for the Bulldogs has been their 11 takeaways, four against WO-S and a whopping seven two weeks earlier in a 31-22 victory against Kirbyville, then the No. 4 team in Class 2A.
Next for Jasper is a trip to Hamshire-Fannett before a final district tune-up at home against Silsbee. After then, Jasper might be sitting with a surprising 4-1 record as it enters District 18-3A play against Diboll.
As for Newton, the Eagles picked up a second straight victory against a Class 3A team. They needed a last-second field goal try by Silsbee to bounce off the crossbar to seal the victory, but a win is a win, no matter how you slice it.
What Newton has now is a 4-0 record and an eye on a third straight Class 3A opponent, Orangefield, which will provide another stiff test. Those battles will do nothing but help Newton — ranked No. 6 in Class 2A — prepare for a District 22-2A race that looks to be getting tougher by the week.
One week after the Little Cypress-Mauriceville football team snapped a 16-game losing streak that stretched through one season and in parts of two others, the Battlin’ Bears have another kind of streak: A winning streak.
In a whichever-team-has-the-ball-last kind of game, LC-M snagged a 39-36 victory over Cleveland, a strong 3A school. LC-M’s Hunter Gonzales scored four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing. He also completed 14 of 24 passes for 249 yards.
Coupled with last week’s victory against Bridge City, LC-M takes a two-game winning streak into a district opening game against Port Neches-Groves. Play in District 20-4A will be a bit tougher than what LC-M has faced in recent weeks, but the Bears still have good reason to be confident.
Two good things to take from the West Brook football team’s near-comeback loss to Houston Eisenhower:
One, the Bruins fell a failed two-point conversion shy of going to overtime after they scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes. The team’s never-say-die approach should give coach Craig Stump something to build upon.
Two, the two-point loss came against an Eisenhower team that lost by 16 points to Galena Park North Shore, the No. 7 team in the Class 5A state rankings. West Brook and North Shore end the District 21-5A season against each other, and there’s reason to think the Bruins have the potential to keep the game closer than the 41-13 margin by which they lost last season.
The Nederland football team used third-string quarterback Adam Atterberry in a 42-7 loss to Friendswood. Starter Tyler Smith missed the game with the flu. Atterberry became Nederland’s third starting quarterback in as many games. The season-opening starter, Kirby Bellow, is out for the season after he suffered a ligament injury in the opener.
Watch for Orangefield to be a party crasher in a district thought to have been sewn up before the season began.
The preseason prediction that would give the District 21-3A title to the winner of the Oct. 9 game between WO-S and Silsbee might go out the window if Orangefield continues its impressive play.
The Bobcats, who won just once last season, now have a three-game win streak after a 52-0 victory over Cleveland Tarkington. In all, the Bobcats have played well enough to give reason to think they might be good enough to knock off either or both off the preseason district favorites.
For one, Class 2A Newton showed its worth with a thrilling victory at Silsbee, a Class 3A school thought to be a district championship contender. In another game, Jasper looked to be the real deal in a surprising 23-13 victory over West Orange-Stark, thought of as a state championship contender before the season.
The victory for Jasper was its second straight against a team ranked in The Associated Press top 10 state rankings. Most striking in those victories for the Bulldogs has been their 11 takeaways, four against WO-S and a whopping seven two weeks earlier in a 31-22 victory against Kirbyville, then the No. 4 team in Class 2A.
Next for Jasper is a trip to Hamshire-Fannett before a final district tune-up at home against Silsbee. After then, Jasper might be sitting with a surprising 4-1 record as it enters District 18-3A play against Diboll.
As for Newton, the Eagles picked up a second straight victory against a Class 3A team. They needed a last-second field goal try by Silsbee to bounce off the crossbar to seal the victory, but a win is a win, no matter how you slice it.
What Newton has now is a 4-0 record and an eye on a third straight Class 3A opponent, Orangefield, which will provide another stiff test. Those battles will do nothing but help Newton — ranked No. 6 in Class 2A — prepare for a District 22-2A race that looks to be getting tougher by the week.
One week after the Little Cypress-Mauriceville football team snapped a 16-game losing streak that stretched through one season and in parts of two others, the Battlin’ Bears have another kind of streak: A winning streak.
In a whichever-team-has-the-ball-last kind of game, LC-M snagged a 39-36 victory over Cleveland, a strong 3A school. LC-M’s Hunter Gonzales scored four touchdowns, two passing and two rushing. He also completed 14 of 24 passes for 249 yards.
Coupled with last week’s victory against Bridge City, LC-M takes a two-game winning streak into a district opening game against Port Neches-Groves. Play in District 20-4A will be a bit tougher than what LC-M has faced in recent weeks, but the Bears still have good reason to be confident.
Two good things to take from the West Brook football team’s near-comeback loss to Houston Eisenhower:
One, the Bruins fell a failed two-point conversion shy of going to overtime after they scored two touchdowns in the final two minutes. The team’s never-say-die approach should give coach Craig Stump something to build upon.
Two, the two-point loss came against an Eisenhower team that lost by 16 points to Galena Park North Shore, the No. 7 team in the Class 5A state rankings. West Brook and North Shore end the District 21-5A season against each other, and there’s reason to think the Bruins have the potential to keep the game closer than the 41-13 margin by which they lost last season.
The Nederland football team used third-string quarterback Adam Atterberry in a 42-7 loss to Friendswood. Starter Tyler Smith missed the game with the flu. Atterberry became Nederland’s third starting quarterback in as many games. The season-opening starter, Kirby Bellow, is out for the season after he suffered a ligament injury in the opener.
Watch for Orangefield to be a party crasher in a district thought to have been sewn up before the season began.
The preseason prediction that would give the District 21-3A title to the winner of the Oct. 9 game between WO-S and Silsbee might go out the window if Orangefield continues its impressive play.
The Bobcats, who won just once last season, now have a three-game win streak after a 52-0 victory over Cleveland Tarkington. In all, the Bobcats have played well enough to give reason to think they might be good enough to knock off either or both off the preseason district favorites.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday night football wrapup: Nelson, Crouch among winning coaches
This week's final scores, boxes/Next week's schedule
Three weeks into the high school football season, and seven of the nine schools that opened the season with new head football coaches have at least one victory to their team’s credit.
Two of those coaches picked up their first victory Friday, when Little Cypress-Mauriceville’s Randy Crouch and Ozen’s Jeff Nelson both put their heads on a pillow as winners. LC-M topped Bridge City 16-0 and Ozen beat Houston Worthing 30-19.
Only one first-year coach, Port Neches-Groves’ Brandon Faircloth, has an undefeated team at 3-0. Memorial’s Kenny Harrison and Orangefield’s Brian Huckabay are 2-1. Other coaches with a victory to their credit are Jasper’s Mike Bickham and Central’s Andrew Washington.
But for all the attention placed on new coaches this season, each of them would point to their players as the reason for success. After all, the players are the ones doing the work on the field.
Legacy’s Eric Holton and Kountze’s Mike Stewart are still without a victory at their new schools, but we’re sure they’ll soon earn a notch in the “W” column.
Among Friday night’s more intriguing events were the overtime contests won by West Orange-Stark and Port Neches-Groves.
WO-S ended the game when it stuffed a two-point conversion run to preserve a 21-20 victory over former district mate Kirbyville.
As for PN-G, it sealed a 22-16 victory over Texas City with a 13-yard TD run by Caleb Harmon. Texas City fumbled away its only overtime possession, and PN-G enters District 20-4A play undefeated.
Other 20-4A teams to finish non-district play with undefeated records are Vidor and Lumberton. How non-district success translates to district play is tough to gauge, as some of those victories came against schools in smaller enrollment classes.
Only PN-G earned each of its three non-district victories against schools in Class 4A or above. PN-G’s three victories were 21-20 agianst Barbers Hill, 37-7 against Crosby and 22-16 against Texas City.
Keep in mind, however, that none of those victories came on the road.
Among Friday’s more notable performances were that of Nederland quarterback Tyler Smith, a junior who engineered a John Elway-like drive in the fourth quarter of his first varsity start, a 27-23 victory over Waller.
Smith landed in the starter’s role when third-year varsity starter Kirby Bellow suffered a partially torn knee ligament in Nederland’s season-opening loss to West Orange-Stark.
Smith showed moxie during an 83-yard game-winning drive that ended with a pass to a wide-open Ryan Brady on a fly pattern for a 38-yard score with 5:14 left that ended a frantic 20-point Nederland rally.
Let’s chalk up Memorial as a much-improved team this season. The Titans have won two of three games, and they appear to have found the reliable rushing attack they’ve needed for the past few seasons. Ronzell King rushed 27 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns in Memorial’s 28-14 victory over Houston Nimitz. For the season, King has 371 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
We’re not making predictions, but Memorial may finally get a chance to steal one against West Brook when they meet later this season. Watch out.
There’s no mystery as to how Vidor figures to win games this season. The Pirates have averaged 416.3 yards through its three season-opening victories. Vidor runs a Slot-T offense that coach Jeff Mathews and his staff borrowed from coaches at Liberty Hill, winner of Class 3A state titls in 2006 and 2007.
"We begged, borrowed and stole information from everybody that was willing to listen," Mathews said in an Enterprise story published last season.
The offense is designed to methodically work the ball down the field, slowly melting time off the clock and keeping the other team’s offense off the field. Vidor did it well last season. How well the Pirates can run that offense this season will be determined in a district-opener against a strong Central team in two weeks.
Lumberton looks to have a slightly different look this season than it did during its two district championship seasons in 2007 and 2008. That much appeared evident in a 20-14 victory over Hardin County rival Silsbee. A portion of Lumberton's newly-stamped identity comes through the confidence and experience shown by junior quarterback Ryan Hughes, a second-year starter who looks to give his team a more balanced offensive look. Lumberton won those two district titles with a heavy run-based game. So far, the Raiders -- from Hughes to a strong defense backed by linebacker Anthony Beard -- are looking good.
An indicator that the likely District 22-2A title game between Kirbyville and Newton at the end of the regular season will be a tight one come with this fact: Both school hung 62 points on Diboll this season. Newton routed Diboll 62-21 on Friday, two weeks after Kirbyville beat Diboll 62-20.
A look at Friday’s top performers, based on statistics reported Friday night to The Beaumont Enterprise:
Rushers
Ronzell King, Memorial 27 rushes, 176 yards, 2 touchdowns
Caleb Harmon, PN-G 24-160-1
Nick Cardenas, Nederland 24-142-2
Dewan Childress, Anahuac 16-138-1
Kevin Tate, Vidor 12-129-3
Kelvin Bennett, Newton 9-119-2
Corey Huckabay, Orangefield 12-109-4
Percy Johnson, West Brook 7-108-2
Tye LeBlanc, East Chambers 21-107-0
Jacob Peevy, Vidor 17-107-1
Tevvin Jones, LC-M 22-107-1
Passers
Bruce Reyes, West Brook 20 completions, 35 attempts, 279 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Jeremy Johnson, Silsbee 23-36-263-2-2
Cody Johnson, Anahuac 10-11-185-2-0
Tyler Smith, Nederland 15-30-167-2-1
Brennan Doty, PN-G 10-20-156-2-1
Receiving
Braxton Mayes, Anahuac 5 catches, 107 yards, 1 touchdown
Ryan Brady, Nederland 9-100-2
James Morrison, H-J 2-89-1
Pheal Hill, Silsbee 7-85-1
Prentice Lane, Silsbee 7-84-0
Click here to view most recent blog entry.
Three weeks into the high school football season, and seven of the nine schools that opened the season with new head football coaches have at least one victory to their team’s credit.
Two of those coaches picked up their first victory Friday, when Little Cypress-Mauriceville’s Randy Crouch and Ozen’s Jeff Nelson both put their heads on a pillow as winners. LC-M topped Bridge City 16-0 and Ozen beat Houston Worthing 30-19.
Only one first-year coach, Port Neches-Groves’ Brandon Faircloth, has an undefeated team at 3-0. Memorial’s Kenny Harrison and Orangefield’s Brian Huckabay are 2-1. Other coaches with a victory to their credit are Jasper’s Mike Bickham and Central’s Andrew Washington.
But for all the attention placed on new coaches this season, each of them would point to their players as the reason for success. After all, the players are the ones doing the work on the field.
Legacy’s Eric Holton and Kountze’s Mike Stewart are still without a victory at their new schools, but we’re sure they’ll soon earn a notch in the “W” column.
Among Friday night’s more intriguing events were the overtime contests won by West Orange-Stark and Port Neches-Groves.
WO-S ended the game when it stuffed a two-point conversion run to preserve a 21-20 victory over former district mate Kirbyville.
As for PN-G, it sealed a 22-16 victory over Texas City with a 13-yard TD run by Caleb Harmon. Texas City fumbled away its only overtime possession, and PN-G enters District 20-4A play undefeated.
Other 20-4A teams to finish non-district play with undefeated records are Vidor and Lumberton. How non-district success translates to district play is tough to gauge, as some of those victories came against schools in smaller enrollment classes.
Only PN-G earned each of its three non-district victories against schools in Class 4A or above. PN-G’s three victories were 21-20 agianst Barbers Hill, 37-7 against Crosby and 22-16 against Texas City.
Keep in mind, however, that none of those victories came on the road.
Among Friday’s more notable performances were that of Nederland quarterback Tyler Smith, a junior who engineered a John Elway-like drive in the fourth quarter of his first varsity start, a 27-23 victory over Waller.
Smith landed in the starter’s role when third-year varsity starter Kirby Bellow suffered a partially torn knee ligament in Nederland’s season-opening loss to West Orange-Stark.
Smith showed moxie during an 83-yard game-winning drive that ended with a pass to a wide-open Ryan Brady on a fly pattern for a 38-yard score with 5:14 left that ended a frantic 20-point Nederland rally.
Let’s chalk up Memorial as a much-improved team this season. The Titans have won two of three games, and they appear to have found the reliable rushing attack they’ve needed for the past few seasons. Ronzell King rushed 27 times for 176 yards and two touchdowns in Memorial’s 28-14 victory over Houston Nimitz. For the season, King has 371 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
We’re not making predictions, but Memorial may finally get a chance to steal one against West Brook when they meet later this season. Watch out.
There’s no mystery as to how Vidor figures to win games this season. The Pirates have averaged 416.3 yards through its three season-opening victories. Vidor runs a Slot-T offense that coach Jeff Mathews and his staff borrowed from coaches at Liberty Hill, winner of Class 3A state titls in 2006 and 2007.
"We begged, borrowed and stole information from everybody that was willing to listen," Mathews said in an Enterprise story published last season.
The offense is designed to methodically work the ball down the field, slowly melting time off the clock and keeping the other team’s offense off the field. Vidor did it well last season. How well the Pirates can run that offense this season will be determined in a district-opener against a strong Central team in two weeks.
Lumberton looks to have a slightly different look this season than it did during its two district championship seasons in 2007 and 2008. That much appeared evident in a 20-14 victory over Hardin County rival Silsbee. A portion of Lumberton's newly-stamped identity comes through the confidence and experience shown by junior quarterback Ryan Hughes, a second-year starter who looks to give his team a more balanced offensive look. Lumberton won those two district titles with a heavy run-based game. So far, the Raiders -- from Hughes to a strong defense backed by linebacker Anthony Beard -- are looking good.
An indicator that the likely District 22-2A title game between Kirbyville and Newton at the end of the regular season will be a tight one come with this fact: Both school hung 62 points on Diboll this season. Newton routed Diboll 62-21 on Friday, two weeks after Kirbyville beat Diboll 62-20.
A look at Friday’s top performers, based on statistics reported Friday night to The Beaumont Enterprise:
Rushers
Ronzell King, Memorial 27 rushes, 176 yards, 2 touchdowns
Caleb Harmon, PN-G 24-160-1
Nick Cardenas, Nederland 24-142-2
Dewan Childress, Anahuac 16-138-1
Kevin Tate, Vidor 12-129-3
Kelvin Bennett, Newton 9-119-2
Corey Huckabay, Orangefield 12-109-4
Percy Johnson, West Brook 7-108-2
Tye LeBlanc, East Chambers 21-107-0
Jacob Peevy, Vidor 17-107-1
Tevvin Jones, LC-M 22-107-1
Passers
Bruce Reyes, West Brook 20 completions, 35 attempts, 279 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Jeremy Johnson, Silsbee 23-36-263-2-2
Cody Johnson, Anahuac 10-11-185-2-0
Tyler Smith, Nederland 15-30-167-2-1
Brennan Doty, PN-G 10-20-156-2-1
Receiving
Braxton Mayes, Anahuac 5 catches, 107 yards, 1 touchdown
Ryan Brady, Nederland 9-100-2
James Morrison, H-J 2-89-1
Pheal Hill, Silsbee 7-85-1
Prentice Lane, Silsbee 7-84-0
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